Agony of Survival
by PaladinPaine
Summary: This is my first story. When two events that shouldn't happen do, the impossible comes to pass. Those who are left behind try to pickup the pieces. Warning: Major Character death.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N 1: I have this story on an old flashdrive I thought I had lost, figured I would finish the chapter and clean it up so I can post it here. Hope you like it.**

Chapter 1: The End

Yu pov

I sit on the train reading as I wait for it to make its way to Inaba. I get about a third of the way through my book before my phone goes off. I take it out of my pocket to see who it is, and smile when I see the ID, My Prince. I quickly open it.

 _Almost everyone has gathered at the train station, the only one missing is Rise-san, she said that she is on her way and should be here sometime this evening. Yukkiko-senpai and Chie-senpai both said that they'll cook something for tonight, I shudder at the memory of the school camp out last year, they both have promised that they have gotten better, nonetheless, I will help them out, so that we don't get 'another helping of mystery food X' as Yosuke-senpai calls it. How far out are you?_

 _P.S. I can't wait to see you._

 _Love,_

 _Naoto._

I check my watch, then send a short reply.

 _Still about 1.5 hours out. Thank you for helping out, I would prefer not to get food poisoning almost as soon as I get there._

 _I can't wait to see you either._

 _Yours as always,_

 _Yu._

I put my phone back in my pocket before I return to reading. About half an hour later, the train starts to get a little bumpy, which isn't uncommon in tracks as old as these. Then suddenly several things happened in quick sequence, one; the train slammed on its brakes, two; my head hit the bar in front of me, three; screaming from some of the cars up front, four; a sense of weightlessness, five; everything fading to black.

* * *

Naoto pov

Not even thirty seconds after I texted him I got a reply, as efficient as ever. After reading the message, I chuckle. The others look over at me, "What did he say?" Chie-senpai asked, before I can reply Yosuke takes the phone from my hand.

I try and grabbed it, but he stays out of reach as he reads it out loud, in his best Yu-senpai voice, "'Still 1.5 hours out' Who says '1.5 hours'? He sounds like some kind of robot."

At this point I give up trying to get the phone from him and just glare at him as he continues to read, "'Thank you for helping out, I would prefer not to get food poisoning almost as soon as I get there.' Ha!"

At once Chie-senpai speaks up, "Hey, I said that I have improved my cooking!"

Yukkiko-senpai quietly says, "So have I."

Marie-san speaks up for the first time since she got here, "Wait, you two gave him 'food poisoning'?" she asked with odd interest. "I thought you didn't do that to someone you like."

* * *

Paine pov

 _I feel my bed sink down a little bit._

There is only one person on this ship that would do that.

 _"What have a told you about personal space, Riku?" I grumble._

 _She's chipper as ever, even this early in the morning, "I know, but there is something we need to talk about."_

 _I surpress a sigh, "And what would that be?"_

 _She gets off my bed, finally. "Something I found last night..." She pauses, I crack my eye to see what she is doing. I nearly have a panic attack when I see my little red book in her hand._

 _I sit upright as she moves just out of arms reach. "Why do you have that?"_

 _She ignores my question, "Why haven't you told her?"_

 _I know exactly what part she's talking about, "It wouldn't be fair to drop that on her while she is still looking for him." My tone sharp._

 _She tilts her head slightly, "What about what's fair to you?"_

 _I nearly growl, "I won't force her to choose."_

* * *

I jolt awake covered in cold sweat.

 _Just another dream._

I swing my legs over the edge of my makeshift bed as I try slow my heart rate down.

"I've had one every 'night' since I arrived here." I say to no one.

After a few minutes, I calm down enough to start my 'morning' routine.

Once I'm done, I grab my sword and remaining gun.

 _Let's see if I can find a way out of this strange place today._

 **A/N2: If I can get motivated, I will continue this story. Please leave a review.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Reprieve

 **AN: I'm back, hope you guys like this.**

Today is Yus' funeral. It's been two weeks since he died. The others have tried to comfort me, but I wouldn't let them in. What could they say, or do, that would make me feel better?

Nothing. I've lost the one person that I let into my heart. They have no idea how much it hurts, how much I've cried. They have no-

"We have arrived, Naoto-sama." Yakushiji says from the front of the car.

"Thank you, Yakushiji-san." I say without much emotion.

The funeral goes by in a blur. I spend most of my time making sure I don't cry. I can focus on some of the faces I remember seeing at school or around town. One of the people is giving a speech, talking about how it is almost like a miracle that one person could touch so many in such a short amount of time.

That makes me remember a conversation I had with him. Neither of us were sure if his ability to connect to so many was something that came from him, or was one of the side effects of being a 'Wildcard'. He said that regardless, it didn't change how he felt for me.

The next thing that pulls me out of my thoughts is Yukiko giving me a hug, "I am so sorry for what you are going through. If you ever need to talk, never hesitate to call."

I do my best to return the hug. I know they mean well, it's just that right now, I don't feel like it's time to talk about it with others.

That's when I notice that it's over. _Did I spend that much time in my head?_

As the people start dispersing a woman with deep red hair in a high-end coat, followed by someone with bright blonde hair, approaches me.

"You're Naoto Shirogane, yes?"

I keep my expression neutral, "Yes. Who might you be?"

"Mitsuru Kirijo. I don't wish to be rude, but is there somewhere we can speak in private?"

I narrow my eyes, "Why?"

She doesn't appear to be disturbed by my tone, "It concerns what happened to you and your friends last year."

I am unable to keep the surprise out of my voice, "How do you kno-"

She raises her hand, "I think we can both agree that this is a matter not meant for others to hear."

I quickly compose myself, "Of course, there is a large hill on the south side of Inaba. On it is an area with several tables, it's rarely used this time of year. I'll gather the rest and meet you there in a hour."

The woman nods, "Very well. Aigis, we're leaving."

The person with her responds in a slightly feminine, too-calm voice, "Of course, Mitsuru-san."

Once they are out of ear-shot, I pull out my phone and dial Yosuke-senpai. He picks up after two rings, before he can say anything, "We have an issue. I just talked to a woman who knew about what happened last year."

The alarm clear in his voice, "How-?"

I cut him off, "I don't know right now, but she wants to meet us. Call everyone else and have them meet us up on the hill in one hour."

"How do you know this isn't a trap?" He asks in a concerned voice.

I shake my head, "I don't. But if it is, I would rather deal with the trap now. If it isn't, then it means we are not the only ones dealing with them"

He sighs "Very well, I'll gather the others. Be careful."

I nearly scoff, "Of course." Hanging up before he can reply.

* * *

I'm the first one to reach the meeting area. I look over at one of the tables, remembering it so well. It's where Yu and myself spent a lot of time, whether it was working on a personal case, or just talking.

He was the first one, other than Grandfather, that made an effort to learn about Naoto the person, not make use of Naoto the Detective Prince.

At first, it was strange talking to him about anything that wasn't case related. But, he simply listened to me, never judging me, as I vented, for the way I dressed, or how I talked.

I hear someone coming up the steps. _Two people._ After listening for a moment. _It sounds like one of them is wearing heavy boots. The other is wearing heels._

It doesn't take them long to reach the top of the stairs, revealing it to be the Kirijo woman and Aigis. I glance down at their footwear, Mitsuru is wearing ~10cm heels. And Aigis is wearing older, but very well-maintained, tennis shoes.

Before I can ponder the conundrum, Mitsuru speaks up, "The others on are their way?"

I nod, "Shouldn't be more than a few minutes."

Mitsuru and I sit down at one of the tables, Aigis stands a little ways away from Mitsuru.

We silently observe each other for a couple of minutes, before Aigis shifts into a battle stance, "A Shadow is approaching."

Our eyes snap to Aigis as Mitsuru speaks, "Are you certain?"

I clear my throat, "That would be Teddie. He is annoying, but harmless."

Mitsuru studies me for a moment, "Very well. Aigis, stand down."

Aigis moves back to their previous position, "Understood."

The first thing I hear is Teddies' high-pitched voice, "Why did you let Nao-chan go on her own?" I can't hear the response.

The group comes into view, out of the corner of my eye I see Mitsuru studying them. _Trying to figure out which one is the Shadow, no doubt._ "It's the blonde male in the white shirt." I say without looking at her.

She gives a thoughtful noise from the back of her throat, "I see."

Before anything else can be said, the others are within earshot.

They all take a seat, Kanji even grabs one of the other benches nearby for more seating.

Mitsuru is the first to speak up, "I'm sure you are wondering who I am, and how I know about last year. My name is Mitsuru Kirijo, I am the founder and leader of a group called the Shadow Operatives. Our main duty is to hunt down and eliminate Shadows where ever we find them."

She glances over to Aigis, "This is Aigis, one of the founding members. Leader of the ground missions."

I arch an eyebrow, "Why is that?"

Aigis makes eye contact for the first time, those vibrant blue eyes look into mine, "Because I have the power of a Wildcard," the others gasp, I see a flash of pain behind her eyes, "that makes me the best equipped for anything we might encounter in the field."

Mitsuru speaks again, "I take it from your reactions, Narukami-san was a Wildcard as well?"

I do my best to not let my emotions show, "Yes, although, he was not the one that gave it the name 'Wildcard'. He said that was given to him by another."

She nods, "That makes sense. It was the same for our former leader."

Suspicion seeps into my tone, "I thought you said you were the leader and founder of the Shadow Operatives?"

She nods again, "I did, and I am. But we have been doing this since I was still in school. Despite the fact she was one of the younger members, we made her the leader because she had the power to switch Persona. We didn't start the Shadow Operatives until I was out of school, by that time she had passed." She clears her throat, "But enough about that. If I may ask, how did Narukami-san fight beside your group?"

I look over to Yosuke for him to take over, since he has been in the group the longest. He nods.

"Against the 'rank-and-file' he used one Persona that had access to all the elements in their low-level forms, to make openings for the rest of us. Against 'boss-level' enemies, he would use his wide array of Persona defensively to make it harder for rest us to have our weaknesses exploited."

Mitsuru steeples her hand in front of her face, "That is almost exactly how she fought." She says in a quite voice.

I decide to speak up again, "If I may put forth my own question, where were you during the events that happened last year?"

Mitsuru snaps out of her thoughts, "We didn't even know Shadows _might_ have been involved until the second body showed up. By that time, we were already moving on information of a... weapon on the northern islands that could have helped us against the Shadows. And since no one else died for some time, it wasn't as pressing. We didn't even piece together what happened until six months ago. For that, I am sorry."

Yukiko speaks up for the first time since sitting down, "If you know everything that happened last year, why are you here now?"

She looks over all of us, "Three reasons. The first is to apologize for not intervening. The second is to see if we could get your accounts of the events last year. And third, we are here to see if Shadows had anything to do with Narukami-sans' death."

I feel my pulse pick up, "Are you saying it might not be an accident?"

She shakes her head, "I don't know, but we have come across Shadows that have fought through the sole use of ambushes and traps."

A mature female voice calls out from the tree-line, "I can answer that concern." _What is she doing here?_

We all turn to the voice as Aigis gets back into her battle stance.

At first all we see is a faint blue mist, then Margret steps out of the mist.

Wearing the same small smirk she almost always is, "Now, now, Aigis. I mean you no harm"

I hear a gasp from Aigis and Mitsuru, "How do you know me?"

Margret gave a sad smile, "My sister, Elizabeth, talked about you from time to time."

Mitsuru frowns, "If she is your sister, does that mean you are not human either?"

Margrets' golden gaze lands on her, "Very good, but that's not why I am here. Yu did not die from Shadow involvement."

I study her before speaking, "How can you be so sure?"

She locks her gaze onto me, "Because I have spent everyday since his death going over the wreckage with my powers, trying to find the cause. There was no trace of Shadows, no human explosives, and not enough wood rot or rust to cause to the overpass to collapse."

I feel my heart plummet, "So, you have no clue how it happened?"

She slowly shakes her head, "I never said that. I only figured out the chain of events that caused it last night. It started with a thunderstorm you had here two months ago, during it, one of the bolts struck a support beam. But there was very little visible damage that could be seen from a distance, so it went unrepaired. Then last month, a train with a heavier load than normal left Inaba. Furthering the damage to the beam, making it almost hollow. After that, it was slowly weakened by every train that passed, until it could no longer take the strain."

Her gaze sweeps over all of us, pausing only briefly on me, "I am sorry to say, this was an accident that no human could have prevented, or foreseen."

I barely am able to hold in my emotions, "I take it, that's not the only reason you're here?"

She looks back to me, "I would expect nothing less from you. You are correct, there is one more thing I am here for. There is _something_ that has appeared in the TV world."

Mitsuru crosses her arms, "You don't know what it is?"

Margret shakes her head, "Not entirely. I do know it is not a Resident of the Other Side, like myself. It's not a Shadow, or one of the Sargari," I hear Mitsuru repeat the word to herself, "it almost feels like a human. But no portals have opened up from this side for almost a year now."

I frown, "I thought your kind were forbidden from interfering in the human world?"

She nods as she starts walking back to the tree-line, "You are correct again." She fades into the mist, "Consider it my gift to you, Detective Prince." The mist fades with the last word.

They all look me, "Do ya know wha' she's talkin' about, Naoto?" Kanji asks.

I shake my head, "I do not. But we do need a plan of action." I look pointedly at Yosuke.

Slowly the rest of the team looks at him as well.

He glances between everyone, "Why is everyone looking at me like that?"

Teddie hops on his back, "Weren't you always going on about being his partner?"

Yosuke turns a light shade of pink, "Don't say it like that! Besides, I said from the beginning, I am no good as a leader. I say it should be Naoto-kun, since she was closer... to... him." He drops his gaze, and says in a quite voice. "Sorry."

I let out a hard sigh, "How about Rise-san and Teddie take Kirijo-san and Aigis-san to the TV world to see if you can learn anything about what's there. Depending on the situation over there, we go in two or three days. Giving us enough time to gather what we need, and for those that wish to, give Kirijo-san the information she wants."

I look over everyone, "Is this acceptable?"

The rest of the team gives their agreement.

I look over at Mitsuru, "Where are you two staying while here?"

"We're booked at the Amagi Inn for a week."

I nod, "Good, I'll be by there tomorrow to give you the information."

I leave, just wanting to get back to my room.

 **AN: I'm sorry about the 'funeral scene'. Of the multiple tries at that scene, that was the only one I was somewhat ok with. See you guys next time. And remember to leave a review.**

 **Next time we head into the TV World.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N1: I have finished another chapter. Hope you enjoy.**

 **A/N2: I fixed as many mistakes as I could find in the earlier chapters. If you notice any more, let me know, so I can fix them as well.**

Chapter 3 - Savior part 1

Naoto POV

I arrive at the Amagi inn just after noon.

Yukkiko greets me at the door, "Welcome to-" She relaxes a little, "Oh. Hi, Naoto-kun. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see Kirijo-San."

She seems a little saddened by that. She nods, "Of course. She said that was fine. They're in the same room we stayed in."

I walk past her, "Thank you, Yukkiko-sempai."

It doesn't take me long to find my way to the room they are in. I knock on the door. After a few moments of waiting, the door opens, revealing Mitsuru.

"Ah, Shirogane-san. I was hoping you would stop by." She steps to the side, allowing me to enter.

As I move by her, I hand her a stack of notebooks. "These are the notes you wanted. The top two are mine, the last four are a copy of Narukamis'. I've edited out anything I deemed too personal."

She takes them without issue, setting them on a nearby table. "That seems fair. There was something else I wanted to discuss with you."

I raise an eyebrow, "Is it about wishing to join us tomorrow in the TV world?"

She nods, "Yes, I take it that's why you had us accompany Kujikawa-san and the Teddie Shadow yesterday?"

I adjust my cap, "That's correct, if you're to join us tomorrow, you'll need to be familiar with the TV world. We can use all the help we can get. You'll have my vote after you answer one of my questions."

Her stance shifts to that of one on-guard. "And what would that be?"

I look straight at her, "Aigis-san isn't human, is she?"

A look of surprise flashes across her face, before returning to neutral, "Not many have figured that out. How did you?"

I give a small smile, "The way she moves was the first clue, then there was how she was able to sense Teddie before we heard his overly loud voice."

"I see, will you allow us to join you?"

I shake my head, "That's not up to me, but as I said, we can use all the help we can get. I don't think the others will object. We're meeting at Junes tomorrow morning at 11."

After a moment of silence, "If that's all, I need to head back to make preparations for tomorrow."

It looks like she is going to say something, then she shakes her head, "No, that is all. We'll see you at 11."

"Very well." I leave, giving a fleeting goodbye to Yukiko on my way out.

* * *

I make it back to my home without running into anyone else.

I exchange greetings with Yakushiji on my way up to my room. Once there, I head straight to my closest. Buried under several other boxes is the shoe box I'm looking for. I bring it to my bed before opening it. Inside it is the 'Rune Dress', something I would never consider wearing if it didn't shift into the item most easlily worn by the person using it while in the TV World. The 'Ouryu Brace' the item we found after defeating the second large Shadow that we found in Nanakos' 'Heaven'. And 'Algernon', the gun we got for returning to my 'Secret Base' after I was able to join the team.

Upon seeing them again, I'm brought back to the night before we went into the dungeon that Adachi was hiding in.

* * *

 _I look over at Yu in confusion, "Why will I be using these? I know we have access to equipment that are stronger than them."_

 _He nods, "In some ways, yes, but not in the way you need."_

 _I frown slightly, "What do you mean?"_

 _He pauses, as he tries to find the right words, "Unlike nearly everyone else, your Persona doesn't have an element that it's weak to. However, it's... stats, I guess you can say, are spread out in such a way that you are not lacking in any one area, but you're not very_ good _at anything either."_

 _He points to the light grey dress, "This one gives a bonus of plus four to all your stats." The leather and white 'steel' armguard, "This one give a bonus of plus five to all." And the gun that, when the light hits it just right, glints cyan, "And this one also gives a plus five. Using all of them on top of your Persona will make it so that you are second best in every stat." He frowns for a moment, "Third. Sorry, I keep forgeting how powerful some of my own Persona are. With these items, and being able to use three of the four 'Dynes, Light, Dark, and All-mighty skills. You will be able to be the core of the team if I am ever unable to fight beside you guys."_

 _I slowly nod, "I... guess that makes sense."_

* * *

 _ **He was always good at picking out what was most needed for the situation at hand.**_ I hear the calm voice of Yamato Takeru.

"Yes, he was." I say with a small smile. Then I blink a few times in confusion. _Where have you been lately, Takeru?_

 _ **I've always been here. Before he died, there was nothing that needed my input.**_

I nod. _Fair enough. And after?_

 _ **When a Persona User goes through emotional hardships, it can make it... difficult for a Persona to communicate with its' User.**_

I sigh. _Of course. I am sorry about that._

 _ **You needn't be sorry. No one would be expected to suffer the loss of their love and just move on. You need time to grieve,**_ I sense unease coming from her, _**and to talk to someone about it.**_

 _I..._ _I know this. But a part of me feels like, since they don't know the pain I am going through, there is nothing to gain from talking to them._

 _ **But you also know that's not quite true. Both Rise and Yosuke loved him in a similar way, although only one of them was ever very open about it. And it's hard to say if Marie did or not. So the question is, what is holding you back from talking to your friends?**_

I hang my head as my knees hit the floor. _It hurts so much. The others look to me as though I am the new leader._ I can feel my tears making their way down my face. _I don't want them to see me like this._

 **A/N3: I was going to continue this chapter, but it would have been far longer than I would like, so I stopped it here. I am working on the next chapter now. Please leave a review if you liked it.**


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